Brother Ali
Us
Play Us
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AMG Review of Us
Marisa Brown
All Music GuideWhile hip-hop struggles to redefine itself after years of standing on the precipice of self-parody, experimenting with pop, electronica, and dance, Brother Ali continues to remind listeners what's so good about the pure form: the stories, the intricate sentences, the wordplay, the rhymes (and Rhymesayers bigshot Ant shows how good production not based on samples can be). Us, the rapper's third full-length, is a strong record that emphasizes the substance and power of the genre, the message and the ability to convey it his most important tasks. Ali is, above all, a storyteller, hell-bent on making his characters as believable as possible, and he does so with an amazing amount of empathy. While there is an unfortunate hypocrisy in the hip-hop world to speak of freedom and equality while also ignoring or perpetuating other stereotypes and intolerances, Ali is unafraid to defend all marginalized groups. Inner-city kids, abused women, his fans, his family, kids growing up in broken homes, minorities, and, most distinguishably, gays and lesbians, all find themselves with a well-spoken defender and supporter ("'Cause there ain't no flame that blaze enough/To trump being hated for the way you love," he says in "Tight Rope"). The downside of this is that sometimes the MC feels a little too preachy, a little too earnest. In "Babygirl" and "The Travelers," for example, although both are well-meaning and occasionally poignant, he can come across as heavy-handed ("Our identity is hinged upon/The miserable myth we've been taught since we were born" is too much of a mouthful, and feels like something from a high-school poetry slam), a little too focused on getting his point across. Which makes, in contrast (and unusually), his boastful tracks some of the best on the album. Ali's generally melodic flow tightens and sharpens in "Bad Mufucker Pt. 2," which has a nice Dungeon Family feel, and "Best@It ," featuring excellent verses from Freeway and Joell Ortiz ("These rappers starting to look like them pork chops you smother/Mmm, slap me your fork, damn right I eat pork/I'm sick, I dine on the swine flu with every thought"), finds Ali at his best: smart, aware, grateful, and proud, voice getting rougher the further into his bars he gets, his energy palpable. The songs on Us are long -- most track in past four minutes -- and the album can start to drag during some of the later verses, but as a statement on the health of hip-hop, it's an assured yes that all is well.
Brother Ali - Us - Album Review
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Brother Ali - Us - Album Review ""If you know me, you know I love my family, love my God," proclaims Minneapolis MC Brother Ali at the top of his third album. If you didn't know that, Ali makes sure you do by the end of "Us," on which he holds forth on his Muslim faith, [...]
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Brother Ali’s US In Stores Tomorrow!
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There's nothing really new in this post; mostly a reminder to get your dollars (or plastic) out and support Brother Ali, Rhymesayers, and good fucking music. After a week of listening, US is easily one of the best albums of the year. Do yourself a favor and cop it tomorrow ...
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New! Brother Ali - "Us"
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It seems like the new trend among rappers is to be on some outerspace shit. That's cool, and I can definitely relate to feeling like I'm on another planet at times, but when I hop up out of bed (and turn my swag on) in the morning, both of my feet are planted on Earth, and when I look in the mirror, I see a human being. That's why a little Brother Ali is always refreshing. Ali touches on those ...
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Brother Ali - Fresh Air
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Domestic life is addressed relatively seldom in rap; artists are generally more than willing to take listeners to the clubs, the streets, the studio, or the tour bus, but, whether due to privacy concerns or simply because they don’t get to spend much time there, the majority remain vague or silent on what goes on at home. Minne-ap favorite Brother Ali, however, sees no reason to keep mum—as h
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MOG it up!
Brother Ali - Us - Album Review
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Brother Ali - Us - Album Review ""If you know me, you know I love my family, love my God," proclaims Minneapolis MC Brother Ali at the top of his third album. If you didn't know that, Ali makes sure you do by the end of "Us," on which he holds forth on his Muslim faith, [...]
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Brother Ali - ‘You Say (Puppy Love)’
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One more dope joint from Ali off his US album dropping September 22nd. And this would be the last one I post. Go get the album on that date! Download here - You Say (Puppy Love) Related posts:Brother Ali - US (Album Cover & Track List) Here's the official album cover (what a dope one)...MIXTAPE: Brother [...] Related posts:Brother Ali - US (Album Cover & Track List) Here's the official alb...
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Brother Ali: "Truth Is" (Live at First Ave)
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Via City Pages, who had a nice write up of the show.
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Brother Ali ‘Us’
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With a new album, ‘Us’, due in September, Brother Ali has just dropped a sneak peak teaser video – which you can check out by clicking here. Featuring the mighty roll call of Chuck D, Joell Ortiz and Freeway, plus beats by Atmosphere’s Ant, the album’s set to be another fire-starting set by the rabble-rousing [...]
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Brother Ali: "Tight Rope" (Live at the MN State Fair)
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More footage from locals performing at The Current booth. Here's Ali doing a little something from his upcoming album, Us. I've heard the entire thing, and I must say, it's nothing short of typically excellent material from Brother Ali. You can preorder Us at Fifth Element.
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 "Us")
